TY - JOUR
T1 - Archaeology in space
T2 - The Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE) on the International Space Station. Report 1: Squares 03 and 05
AU - Walsh, Justin S.P.
AU - Graham, Shawn
AU - Gorman, Alice C.
AU - Brousseau, Chantal
AU - Abdullah, Salma
PY - 2024/8/7
Y1 - 2024/8/7
N2 - Between January and March 2022, crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) performed the first archaeological fieldwork in space, the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE). The experiment aimed to: (1) develop a new understanding of how humans adapt to life in an environmental context for which we are not evolutionarily adapted, using evidence from the observation of material culture; (2) identify disjunctions between planned and actual usage of facilities on a space station; (3) develop and test techniques that enable archaeological research at a distance; and (4) demonstrate the relevance of social science methods and perspectives for improving life in space. In this article, we describe our methodology, which involves a creative re-imagining of a longstanding sampling practice for the characterization of a site, the shovel test pit. The ISS crew marked out six sample locations ("squares") around the ISS and documented them through daily photography over a 60-day period. Here we present the results from two of the six squares: an equipment maintenance area, and an area near exercise equipment and the latrine. Using the photographs and an innovative webtool, we identified 5,438 instances of items, labeling them by type and function. We then performed chronological analyses to determine how the documented areas were actually used. Our results show differences between intended and actual use, with storage the most common function of the maintenance area, and personal hygiene activities most common in an undesignated area near locations for exercise and waste.
AB - Between January and March 2022, crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) performed the first archaeological fieldwork in space, the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE). The experiment aimed to: (1) develop a new understanding of how humans adapt to life in an environmental context for which we are not evolutionarily adapted, using evidence from the observation of material culture; (2) identify disjunctions between planned and actual usage of facilities on a space station; (3) develop and test techniques that enable archaeological research at a distance; and (4) demonstrate the relevance of social science methods and perspectives for improving life in space. In this article, we describe our methodology, which involves a creative re-imagining of a longstanding sampling practice for the characterization of a site, the shovel test pit. The ISS crew marked out six sample locations ("squares") around the ISS and documented them through daily photography over a 60-day period. Here we present the results from two of the six squares: an equipment maintenance area, and an area near exercise equipment and the latrine. Using the photographs and an innovative webtool, we identified 5,438 instances of items, labeling them by type and function. We then performed chronological analyses to determine how the documented areas were actually used. Our results show differences between intended and actual use, with storage the most common function of the maintenance area, and personal hygiene activities most common in an undesignated area near locations for exercise and waste.
KW - space archaeology
KW - International Space Station (ISS)
KW - Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE)
KW - chronological analyses
KW - Space station
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85200774115&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0304229
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0304229
M3 - Article
C2 - 39110757
AN - SCOPUS:85200774115
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 19
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
IS - 8
M1 - e0304229
ER -